Christians Are Dying, No Longer Seeing or Hearing Christ — Hans R. Waldvogel

Salvation by Hope and the Promise of Eternity

In Romans 8 this morning, and in Romans 8 he says, we are saved. That's the song that we sing everywhere. We are, and here a Swabish brother was telling about years ago, and he says, he wanna make safety, and we are saved.

But the Bible says we are, and that's the thing that gives me great joy to know that the work we do here, we don't do for a few years only, or for some glory, for some crown upon this earth, or recommendation by men.

We're not geared to Brooklyn or to this time, but we're geared to eternity, to heaven, to the new Jerusalem. That's the thing we have been working for. Praise God, and 32 years is really a very, very short time when you think that the seed we sow is going to result in a harvest that's going to go on forever and forever to the glory of God, and how important it is that we get the sight of it, that we get the light of Romans 8 makes very clear who it is that is saved by hope.

Hope that is seen is not hope, and seeth. Why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we patiently wait for it. That's the word, patience. You have need of patience, that after you have done the of God, you might receive the promise.

What does patience mean? Why it means stick-to-itiveness. Lots of people start out, you know, they're saved, but they're not saved by hope. They don't cast their anchor into the new Jerusalem, and then hang on and let the Holy Ghost pull them up.

And it doesn't matter where it's cast, because they're not going to go. But oh, thank God we belong to the bridal procession, not the bridal profession. We know what we're saved for. We know why we're saved, praise God.

And we know where we're going, and we know what our heart is. We know what our interests are. Thank God. Thirty-two years is a very, very short time, but all that time God has kept our hearts going on, looking up, waiting and looking and patiently laboring toward that one end, that we may be found perfect of Him, that we may be found of Him in peace, and that we might please God.

And that's the great message of Romans 8. He says, ye are not in the flesh. Would to God we could say that of everyone that comes to this meeting. I know lots of people have excuses for not being here tonight, but if God really had His way with everybody that belongs to this fellowship, don't you think that some of these empty chairs would be filled?

Don't you think somebody would have the call of God to come out this night and wait upon the Lord and to receive this outpouring of the Holy Ghost? My beloved, I needed, I came to this week's meeting with a hungry heart.

I said, oh, and I've been like that all these 32 years and longer. I've been jealous for prayer meetings. I have been longing for times of prayer. And you know, sometimes they were prolonged into eight weeks.

One time we had eight weeks, one after the other, and every successive week was more wonderful, and people were changed, and they were transformed. And I've been jealous for these changes because I know that God does something that the natural man cannot perceive and cannot understand.

He works for eternity. They do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. That's the thing that God has saved us for. He that hath wrought the same thing is God, who also has given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

Oh, how we need the earnest of the Spirit. When He says, you're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, He declares the condition of the Corinthians. Good to God He could say that of all of us, you're not in the flesh.

Rejecting the Mindset of the Flesh

You are not in the flesh. They that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh. Mind you, if we had advertised a good moving picture here tonight, what would have happened? That's one reason why I stopped showing pictures.

Because the motley crowd that comes out when you show pictures, oh, it attracts flesh like a manure pile attracts horseflies. Where the carcasses, there will the vultures gather, and where some fleshly interests, why, they that are after the flesh will be found.

That's where they are, where the flesh is entertained. You can't help us. We've been like that ourselves. But today we're different, thank God. We're not in the flesh. Oh, thank God we are not in the flesh.

Something's happening to us. We are in the Spirit. They that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh. They mind earthly things. It doesn't mean that they go to the circus or to the movies or sit for hours in front of the television.

It doesn't mean that at all. But their whole heart is occupied with things of earth and things of self. Beloved, you're not in the flesh. You are not in the flesh. You're saved by hope, thank God. You're racked out of the flesh, out of the world, out from among them.

You don't belong among them anymore. Tell me who you associate with, and I'll tell you who you are. But our fellowship is with the Father. That's where we love to be, with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

And if we walk in the light as He is in the light, that's what Romans 8 makes clear. We're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. There's no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. We've been translated out of the flesh, out of ourselves, into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

Oh beloved, we're living in a different kingdom. Our conversation is in heaven. Our heart is in heaven. Only the Holy Ghost can accomplish that. They that are after the flesh may seem very religious. And you go through the world and into the church today, my, what people can do to make themselves feel religious.

Even in Pentecost, they could even speak with tongues and prophesy. And they can remove mountains by faith, but it doesn't profit them anything if they're not in the Spirit, if they're not moved and animated by the Spirit of God.

It means that the Holy Ghost is my life. It means that Jesus Christ is my King and is my bright group. He is the breath of my nostrils. He is the very power of my life. God has brought me out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Resurrection Life and the Leading of the Spirit

And that's what Romans 8 tells us. And that's why he says, but we're saved by hope. It does not yet appear what we shall be. Oh beloved, the glory that shall be revealed in us. Oh, what glory shall be revealed in us.

You'll think you're going to flip flop your golden wings when you get up there. The Corinthians said to Paul, what kind of a body are we going to have when we rise from the dead? What is it going to be like?

Whose wife shall she be in the resurrection? Oh, what carnal ideas we have about the resurrection. Beloved, we're going to be like Him, the life-giving Spirit, not like the angel. We're going to be like Jesus Christ here on earth.

Only if the Holy Ghost has His way with us. If today the Spirit of God controls us and not the flesh, not fleshly consideration, but the Spirit of the living God. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Beloved, I think that we're due for a revival, a different kind of a revival than this world has ever seen. We're due for resurrection. We're due for the salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time when Jesus Christ shall be revealed without sin unto salvation to those that look for Him.

And who is it that looks for Him? Why, they who are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. What do they do in the meantime? Why, they seek first the kingdom of God. The Holy Ghost has hold of them and they pray in the hope.

That's another expression for walking in the presence of God, having fellowship with the Father and with His Son. Your whole life becomes an expression of the prayer, the Lord's prayer. Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

Beloved, that prayer must be my flesh and my blood and my bones. The warp and whoop of my whole being must be a cry. Every atom of my being, every pore in my skin must be a mouth that cries, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

And if my soul is open like that to God, why God will give Himself like that to me. That's why He says, everyone that asketh, receiveth. And everyone that seeketh, findeth. And he that knocketh, to him it shall be opened.

He is talking about the sons of the living God, to whom He says, how much more shall your heavenly Father give? Beloved, that's living in the Spirit. It's being on the receiving end all the time. It's being a vessel.

It's being a channel through which the life of God flows unceasingly. Why did God raise Jesus Christ from the dead and give Him the gift of the Holy Ghost? Why is it that Jesus is in the midst of the throne of glory, sending forth the seven spirits of God?

Because He has vessels upon this earth. He has a kingdom of priests who labor with Him, who bind upon earth, who unite themselves, the twos and the threes, and they agree before God. Hallelujah, they're united to the Son of God.

They live no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit. And the Spirit helps their infirmity, for they know not what to pray for as they ought, but the Spirit maketh intercession for them with groanings that cannot be uttered according to the will of God.

We have felt this groan in us all day long. It's been the it's been the Holy Ghost that has been working in us mightily. But, beloved, these are only beginnings. The question is whether I give myself wholeheartedly unto Him.

The Hope of the Bride and the Judgment Seat of Christ

I've got to wake up and realize that I'm saved by hope. And hope, the Bible says, I don't dare be moved away from the hope of the gospel. What is that hope? Why, beloved, we know not yet what we shall be.

It's the hope of the bride, the bride who is taken from the ranks of the poorest of the poor. But she's been selected by the King of kings and Lord of lords to be his bride, and her sole concern now is to be well-pleasing in his sight.

Paul says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one of us may receive the things done in our bodies according to that we have done, whether good or bad, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord.

We who are saved by hope, we, there is no condemnation, but, beloved, we shall receive of the Lord the reward of the inheritance. And so Paul says, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men but are made manifest unto God.

And we labor, whether we live still on in the flesh or whether we die, that we might be accepted of Him. Beloved, tonight we ought to search our own hearts and see whether we belong to that company, to that bridal procession, or whether things have begun to die within us.

Spiritual Death and the Loss of Hearing

I saw a death notice today in a German paper which seemed very strange to me. It must have been made by the world, about a certain man, and this death notice says, Gestern morgen um 10 .35 Uhr hört er auf zu leben.

Und alle Anzeichen haben bewiesen, dass er tot ist. Yesterday morning at 10 .35 am he ceased living and all the signs indicated that the man was dead. And then the application, how that could be applied to Christians.

Once they were alive, once they came to meeting, to hear the word of God, they had ears to hear. A dead man has no ears to hear. All the sounds of the world, oh how these siren voices of the earth mislead them again, deceive them again, fill their hearts, fill their minds, and they don't know that they're dying.

They don't know. A dead man doesn't hear anymore. His death. God says these people have ears, but they don't hear, but blessed are your ears for they hear. And many saints and prophets have desired to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them.

Beloved, I've been in similar meetings to this where the Holy Ghost lamented. He said this day, a latter-day miracle has taken place among you. And there were just a handful of people there. Where were the others?

Where were the congregation? Why were the flesh was being satisfied? They were in a Pentecostal revival where the evangelist jumped straight up and down and got right in the face, and they thought that was the revival.

And the word of the living God went begging. They're dead. You're not in the flesh, but in the spirit. Beloved, that's the only way to hear the word of the Lord. A person that is not in the Holy Ghost does not have a hearing ear, does not hear the voice of God, no matter how it thunders, no matter how wonderfully God pronounces His will, it leaves him dead.

All these natural ears hear the sound of the voice, but oh how different. When I hear from heaven, it enters right into my heart. It produces life. It makes me live. A dead man has eyes, but he can't see.

The Seeing Eye and Knowing Christ by the Spirit

There was a time when you saw the king, see the sights of earth, anything that the world does, anything the world has. And he speaks of a seeing eye. Do you see the king in this meeting tonight? If not, something has died.

Come to me, that I may anoint your eyes with eyesalve. Let's see today when Jesus left his disciples, he says, the world seeth me no more. What a strange arrangement. They didn't. Why didn't he show himself like he showed himself to John on Patmos, when John fell down like dead?

Beloved, God doesn't want that kind of a sight. He says, you see me. Because I live, ye shall live also. And how does he live? In the Holy Ghost. Beloved, Jesus Christ can only be known by his living out his life within me.

That's why he says, if you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray to Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Have not perceived it, have not known it.

A dead man's heart doesn't beat anymore. How's your heart tonight? Is it on fire for God? Is it on fire with that love of Jesus Christ that makes you desire him, that makes you look for his coming? O beloved, today in the world nothing matters but the coming of Jesus Christ and his crying loud and the trumpet has sounded.

There shall be, he sang a while ago, finish then thy new creation. How's God going to finish it? Why, in those that work with him, in those that know that all things work together for good to them that love God, and they pray in the Holy Ghost, they give themselves continually to prayer.

Walking in the Light and Living as Children of the Day

I discovered something when I came to God. I found out that as I prayed and sought the Lord, wonderful changes took place. I saw that happening tonight and all this day. It's within the grave kingdom of God is established.

It doesn't come with observation. It doesn't come so that the princes of this world can see it come. No, but like a thief in the night. It comes to those who are children of the day and children of the light, who are not of the night, nor of darkness, who don't sleep like others, who are not drunken like others, but they watch and they're sober.

And to them comes the voice of Jesus. They have hearing ears. They know when God speaks to them and it means something. They tremble at his word. It transforms them. They stand attention when an earthly king makes a law.

How they hear, how the Germans heard. They said, Befehl Führer, command. And we follow. And where did they follow? The Pied Piper into hell, into destruction. Where did all Germany follow? Why they said, all you have to do is speak and we'll obey.

The whole nation was captivated by the voice of that one man. I met the brother of Brother Koppai when I was over there, a soldier who had been in the army 57 years. And when Hitler killed Röhm, he killed his bosom friend.

And he says, I hated that man ever. Until one day he stood at parade and he says, the Führer walked by me and he just looked me in the eye and I was a gone goose. I was gone, he says. My heart was captured by that one look.

Christ the Captain of Salvation and the Glory to Come

Listen, does Jesus Christ have any authority at all? Isn't he Führer, captain of our salvation that has become like one of us. Took upon himself the form of man. Praise God he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh.

Praise the Lord that he might lead many sons unto glory. Oh, the glory that shall be revealed in us, beloved, is utterly unspeakable, utterly unpronounceable. I will grant unto him to sit with me in my throne.

But we don't need to talk about that. We might become fantastic. We don't understand the glories of heaven. But beloved, there ought to be an understanding of the glory of walking with him here. There ought to be an appreciation of walking no longer in the flesh, but in the spirit.

We ought to have the taste of it. We ought to feel the fire of God in our hearts. If we're made alive unto God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, every atom of my being ought to show. Amen. Every time Jesus speaks, there ought to be a holy trembling within my soul.

Why, it is God that works in me, this great master. He says, to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Oh my God, are you really taking me to make a vessel out of me? To be filled with the glory of God throughout the ages of eternity.

My father, I'm so glad that you've spoken these things to me. I'm so glad that you've gripped my heart. I'm so glad that I know the Spirit of God controls me. I'm so thankful that I ever found out about the baptism in the Holy Ghost.

Where would I be if I had discovered it? I'd be among those whose eyes are covered with darkness. I'd be among those whose ears are dull of hearing. But since then I've heard the voice of Jesus Christ, as truly as Moses heard, as surely as Elijah heard it, and as surely as the fire fell upon Elijah's sacrifice, so surely the fire is burning within my soul tonight.

I've got to know that. That's my privilege. That's God's call. Where would this assembly be, beloved, if people had trembled at his word and had taken to heart the things that God spoke? But they're dying.

The Call to Repentance, Faithfulness, and Sacrifice

Many are dead. They can't hear it anymore. One man said to me, you can't preach to me. Why? He was angry at me because I found out his sin and he wanted to cover it in hand and foot and cast him into outer darkness.

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Beloved, that spoken is truly of the servants of the Lord. As the other word, come ye, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom. We like that. We like the word.

We like to quote it. Well done, good and faithful servant. But what if I'm not good and faithful servant? What if I take the gifts of God and bury them? And hide them and say, well, thou art an austere master.

You demand too much. Someone here said to me, he wants too much. Wicked servant. Oh, beloved, the great light is this, that God is. If you want to, if you want to, you could know him and the power of his resurrection.

You could be united to him. But I don't know any other way than the way the Bible points out. Well, forgetting the things that are behind and pressing towards the Lord, counting everything but refuge for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.

Yes, but think of what I have to give up. People have said that to me. And I woke up, I said, give up, give up. What do you mean, give up? Look what I gained. Oh, hallelujah. Give up the dunghill for a palace of diamonds.

Give up the ashes for beauty. Give up the world for heaven. Give up the flesh and the world and the devil for the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. What do you mean, give up? And the time came when I had to give up not only my house and business and earthly friends, but the dearest I had on this earth.

It did break my heart, but it never changed my purpose. Never. It never touched the purpose of my heart. Never. It never tempted me to look back. Even though I honestly stood and said, God, I'd rather have my head cut off.

It would be easy. Give up. Sacrifice. Beloved, as long as you talk about sacrifice, you haven't seen him. You really haven't seen him. Oh, beloved, there's a sign waiting, you and me. A sign of the Son of God.

Seeing the King and Becoming a Living Stone

It's waiting for somebody to see the King. Somebody to wake from the dead and all the dead in the grave shall come forth at his voice. They will. You will too. But some will come forth to Oh, Jesus, just this one day, beloved, just this morning, this afternoon, just this, to me, it's a great miracle.

Yesterday morning, I came to morning worship and I said, my father, if anything is going to happen today, you certainly will have to do it. I saw some conditions that seemed impossible, but you know, God came in a way that was heaven.

Just one day like this. What do we do with it? What do we do with it? Listen, if we don't do anything with it, I'll tell you something. Jesus Christ is a master builder and he is going to build a temple like, like has never been seen in all eternity.

The angels have never seen such a dazzling structure. We are his house and he is still looking for living stones. He hasn't given us up. If you give yourself up, if you count yourself unworthy of the crown that Jesus Christ is holding over your head, because you desire to rake with your muck rake in the muck of this earth.

All right, it's your choice. You can, but Jesus Christ said some things to me that I've never dared quote. The Lord has said some things to me about his coming that I've never dared read to anybody. That's the thing that has hailed me.

It's been the word of the king. Tremble as I say it, because I know how badly I've done. Beloved.